Author: londavis@hotmail.com

Today we read: Romans 5:3

“We glory in our sufferings, because we
know that suffering produces perseverance;”

Many parents are familiar with the children’s book called, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” I’ve had a few of those myself. I’ve come to realize that I love good days and struggle to get through the hard days. 

But according to this verse, God is still with us on both kinds of days.

Here is how it works, God takes the broken pieces of your Friday and uses them to pave the road to your Sunday. Your pain isn’t a sign of His absence; it’s the canvas for His presence. He uses the friction of life to polish the diamond of your soul. 

Your trial isn’t just a storm to survive, it’s a school where you learn that His grace is enough.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested thought for prayer: Lord, take my struggle and transform it into a testimony of Your faithfulness. Help me realize that nothing is wasted today.

Psalm 57:11

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
may Your glory cover all the earth.

When David lifted this prayer, he wasn’t sitting on a throne; he was hiding in a cave. Yet even there, he refused to shrink God down to the size of his hard days. David chose a higher view. He looked past the shadows of disappointment and fixed his gaze on a God who cannot be diminished. When our expectations collapse, God does not. His glory still towers above the heavens. His character remains unedited, unaltered, unshaken. 

That is the God we have. If troubles come, God is still great and he is on our side.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Today pray:
Father, lift my eyes above my disappointments and restore my confidence in Your unchanging goodness, wisdom, and glory.

Today’s focus is 1 Corinthians 10:13:

“God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can
bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out…”

There is a famous quip that goes, “I can resist anything except temptation.” While it makes for a good laugh, it isn’t the truth. Paul reminds us here that **God is faithful.** Temptation may strike with force, but it can never kick down a door that God has reinforced. He doesn’t just suggest an exit; He provides a way of escape—every single time.

Modern culture often labels every struggle an “addiction,” suggesting we are fundamentally powerless. But God’s Word says otherwise. We may occasionally choose not to resist, but to claim a temptation was “too strong” is to suggest that God failed His promise.

Whatever pressure you face today, you have the capacity to endure it, because God is faithful to His word.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking. 

Suggested Thought for Prayer:

Lord, give me eyes to see the escape and the feet to take it. Thank You for being faithful even when I feel weak.

Daniel 6:10  

“Three times a day he got down on his knees,
prayed, and gave thanks to his God…”

A dear preacher friend of mine, once visited an elderly woman drowning in grief and financial trouble. With tears in her eyes she said, “Nobody has as many troubles as I do.”  

But is that so?

Consider: Daniel prayed three times a day—and gave thanks.  

This, while living in a foreign land, surrounded by enemies, threatened by kings, betrayed by coworkers, and staring down a den full of lions. Gratitude wasn’t his reaction to comfort. It was his declaration of trust.

Thankfulness doesn’t grow from calm circumstances but from a settled heart. Joy blooms when we believe God is for us, even when life is not.

If you want a joyful life, practice gratitude.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested thought for prayer: 

Lord, teach me to give thanks before answers come, trusting that You remain in every season of my life.

As a younger man, I was around my brother a lot. When we were together, I had no fear. I was a big man, but my brother was much stronger. If I had a need, I trusted him to help me.

  Nahum is saying that about God. In Nahum 1:7, Nahum says that about God. He says, 

“The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him.”

When life trembles beneath your feet, God does not. Nahum calls God a strong hold, not a flimsy shelter or a temporary escape, but a fortress. 

God is a refuge built for the day of trouble. God doesn’t simply offer protection; He is the protection. Step inside His strength and you’ll find peace. He knows those who trust Him, He knows their fears, their tears, and their unspoken hopes. And when we are in His strong hold, fear loses its voice and faith finds its footing again.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

  Suggested thought for prayer:

Lord, draw me into Your strong hold, steady my heart, strengthen my trust, and remind me that Your protection never fails.

Psalm 62:8

“Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out
your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.”

Trust is not a seasonal assignment; it is a lifelong invitation.

God doesn’t ask you to trust Him only when skies are blue. He whispers the same invitation in the storm. “At all times,” David writes, when strength is steady and when knees tremble. Trust becomes the bridge between what you feel and what God knows. Pour out your heart, and watch Him gather every worry with gentle hands. He is not startled by your fears or wearied by your questions. He is your refuge, steady, welcoming, and wonderfully near. Trust Him, and find rest waiting on the other side.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested thought for prayer: 

Lord, teach me to trust You in every season, to rest in Your refuge, and to pour out my heart without fear or hesitation.

James 5:16

“Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.”

James gives us a simple picture of healing that begins with honesty. Look at the verse again. Confession is not about public shame but shared grace. When sin stays hidden, it quietly drains strength and joy. I have learned that silence is rarely neutral. It slowly hardens the heart. James reminds us that healing often flows through relationship. We speak truth. We pray together. God works powerfully in that event. 

Freedom begins when we stop pretending and start trusting God with the truth. In the quiet of your room. Let your confession begin by telling God. He knows everything, but confession makes us honest to God…and with ourself.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested thought for prayer: Lord, give me courage to confess honestly and trust Your forgiveness fully.

Today’s focus is: Romans 12:12

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.”

Some verses read like instructions. This one reads like a lifeline. In it, Paul hands us three simple words: joyful, patient, and persistent. They lead us though our hardest days.

First, “Be joyful in hope.” Joy doesn’t wait for the storm to pass; it looks ahead to the sunrise God has already scheduled.  

Second, “Be persistent in prayer.” When life grows heavy, prayer keeps your heart breathing. It reminds you that heaven is not silent.  

Third, “Be patient in affliction.” Patience is the quiet courage to trust that God is working even when you cannot see His hands.

Affliction will come. But this verse whispers a promise: God is not late. In the waiting, He shapes us. In the struggle, He strengthens us. In the testing, He grows a patience that anchors the soul.

James said it well: “the testing of your faith develops patience.” Hard times make us stronger.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested Prayer: Lord, steady my heart with hope, strengthen my patience in trials, and keep me prayerful as You shape my life with Your faithful love.

Micah 6:8

“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

I took my son, his wife, and their 2-year-old daughter to the airport. As we were unloading the car, we took turns holding the hand of the toddler. She is a sweet girl, but unless you are holding her hand, she is subject to wandering. If she will hold our hand, things work out for her good..

That is the theme of this verse. Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. We need to walk with our hand in God’s hand. God isn’t looking for your achievements or a resume that glitters. He’s looking for a hand to hold.  Humility is simply a heart that has found its proper place beside a great God. When we walk with our hand in His, we see how big He truly is.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested prayer. Dear Lord, teach me to release my grip on pride. Guide my steps today so I may walk humbly as I hold your hand.

Today we focus on Mark 10:45

“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,
but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Greatness wears a different uniform in the kingdom of God. While the world measures success by titles and applause, Jesus measures it by towels and compassion. He, the King of heaven, bent low to serve the very people who would one day scatter and deny Him. 

He did this to show us that greatness is not found in climbing higher but in kneeling lower. When we serve, we echo His heart. We loosen the grip of selfishness and tighten our grip on grace. True greatness is not about being noticed; it’s about noticing others and loving them like Jesus did.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested thought for prayer: Lord, shape my heart to serve like Jesus, seeking humility over status and finding true greatness in loving others.

Today’s focus is: Acts 3:19

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”

Why do we repent? We repent so that our sins may be blotted out. 

But what is repentance? In short, repentance is a change of heart that results in a change of life.

Repentance is not a doorway we dread but a window God opens. The best picture of repentance is found in Luke 15 and the story of the Prodigal Son. 

Lost in the far country of sin, he changes his heart. As soon as he headed back to his father’s house, the father ran to him and welcomed him home. With that story, Jesus was telling us that repentance always brings that response from God. 

When we turn toward Him, He turns toward us with mercy in His hands and renewal in His breath. Repentance is the path where weary hearts find rest again.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested thought for prayer: Please God, help me to keep from soft enough to return to you when I am in the far country of sin.

Today’s focus is: Colossians 3:13

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has
a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Ever noticed how we cling to what we should’ve let go of long ago? Years ago, I moved to Wichita and discovered something humbling. Nestled among the moving boxes were boxes of old bricks, the same ones I’d used for a makeshift bookshelf. I picked them up for free but paid a premium to ship heavy, dusty rocks that no longer served a purpose.

We do the same with our hearts. We pack up old grudges and bitter hurts, lugging them into every new season. But those loads are too heavy to carry. Why not leave them at the feet of the One who carried the cross? 

Why do we forgive? We don’t forgive because the hurt was small or the person is worthy; we forgive because the Father first forgave us.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested Prayer Thought: Lord, soften my heart to release bitterness. May Your grace flow through me to others, just as You forgave me.

Today’s focus is: Psalm 42:11

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”

The saddest phrase in the English language is “No Hope.” This psalm is open about this.  The writer talks to his own soul. He names the heaviness. He admits the turmoil. Yet he does not stay there. He gives his heart a direction. For times like these, “Put your hope in God” he tells us.

Hope does not deny pain. It looks beyond it. Hope reminds us that this moment is not the final chapter. Notice how hope and praise are connected here. The psalmist says, I will yet praise Him. Not because things are easy, but because God is faithful. God give us hope.

Hope steadies us when emotions shake us. Peace grows when we trust God with what we cannot fix.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested Prayer Thought: God of hope, lift my weary heart, steady my soul, and help me trust You to steady to steady my heart.

Today’s focus is: Acts 20:35 

“Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

We often white-knuckle our possessions, fearing that letting go means having less. But the Father invites us to a different way of life. Generosity is the mirror of God’s heart; when we give, we  become like the Savior who gave everything for us.

Giving loosens our grip on the temporary and strengthens our trust in the Eternal. God doesn’t ask for your gift because He has need; He invites you to give because He knows a closed fist cannot receive a blessing. When we give cheerfully, we find that the void is replaced by a divine joy. 

Open your hand. Trust His provision. You’ll find it truly is more blessed to give than to receive.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

A Prayer Challenge: Father, loosen my grip on things that don’t last. Help me trust Your provision and reflect Your generous heart.

Our focus today is 1 John 4:19

“We love Him because He first loved us.”

Ever hear a child protest, “He hit me back first”? As parents, we smile at the tangled logic. But in the kingdom of God, this upside‑down reasoning suddenly makes perfect sense. We love because God first loved us.

Before we spoke His name, He whispered ours.
Before we reached for Him, He ran toward us.

His love is the spark that ignites ours, God’s love never runs dry. When your heart feels slow to respond, remember, you are simply returning what He began. His love starts the story, and our love becomes its echo.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Today’s Prayer Thought: Father, thank You for loving me first. Help my life be a loud testimony of Your love to others.

We focus on Psalm 122:1

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.'”

Take a look at David. He wasn’t dragging his feet toward the sanctuary like a child forced to finish his vegetables. He was leaning in. His heart was humming a restless tune that only God could settle.

David knew that the temple wasn’t just a building of stone and cedar; it was a front-row seat to the presence of God. He didn’t go out of duty; he went out of delight.

Is your heart glad today? God isn’t looking for your perfect performance; He’s looking for your presence. He’s already waiting by the door.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking. 

Prayer Thought: Father, thank You for the invitation to Your presence. Help my heart find delight, not duty, in seeking You today.

Today’s focus is: Psalm 95:6

“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.”

One of the blessings of being old is getting to hear your children talk about their children. A few days ago, my son described a midnight event. It was one of those nights when their 3-year-old found herself in mommy-daddy bed. He awoke in the nighttime and got up. In a few minutes, he returned to bed. The little three-year-old was sleeping in the middle of the bed, so he laid down. Without saying a word or opening her eyes, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. She will never remember that midnight moment, but it’s a memory he will never forget. In fact, it reminds me of the true meaning of worship. 

In the Bible, the word we translate as “worship” literally means to bow down, to fall on your knees, or to kiss toward someone.  Worship, then, is not first about music or words. It begins with posture. A heart that bends. A will that kneels. 

In the middle of the night, that little 3-year-old girl was worshiping her father. When we worship our Father, we do the same. “O come, let us worship and bow down…”

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Prayer is the quiet doorway through which we step into the presence of God. It isn’t a performance, and it isn’t a ritual polished by perfect words. Prayer is the honest lifting of a needy heart to a willing Father.

We pray because prayer keeps us close to Him. When life pulls at our sleeves and distractions tug at our minds, prayer gathers us back to center. It reminds us that we are not self‑made or self‑sustained. We breathe because He gives breath. We stand because He holds us steady. Every whispered prayer is a confession of dependence—and a celebration of grace.

Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 are beautifully simple: “Pray without ceasing.” Not because God demands constant speeches, but because He invites constant nearness. Prayer becomes less of an event and more of a rhythm. Less of a task and more of a way of life. Like a child reaching for a parent’s hand, we reach for God again and again—through gratitude, through questions, through silence, through need.

And the wonder is this: He listens. The Maker of galaxies bends low to hear the murmur of your heart. Not because your words are flawless, but because His love is.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Prayer Thought: Father, teach me to walk in constant nearness to You. Keep my heart open, my spirit listening, and my life anchored in prayer.

The Bible is not a book we conquer. It is a place we visit. We open its pages not to feel smart, but to feel guided. Inside its stories and promises, God introduces Himself again and again. He shows us His heart, His patience, His mercy.

Life has a way of dimming the lights. Worry crowds the room. Pain blurs the edges. Questions stack up faster than answers. That is why Scripture matters so much. I love Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” A lamp does not light the whole road. It gives just enough glow to keep us from stumbling. God rarely shows the whole map, but He faithfully shows the next step.

When faith feels thin, the Bible gives it substance. When courage feels weak, Scripture strengthens the spine. Read the stories of God keeping promises. Watch Him part seas, forgive failures, and restore the broken. Those pages whisper, If I did it then, I can do it now.

We read the Bible every day because we need light for today. Not tomorrow’s problems. Not next year’s fears. Just today. One step. One verse. One quiet reminder that God is still walking with us.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Todays verse is Psalm 118:24

“This is the day that the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

I begin with a Happy New Year!

God wrapped this day in fresh mercy and placed it gently at your doorstep. It is His gift, never to be repeated. After the 12 AM tonight, no one will speak of 2025 in the present tense again. 

Three years ago, I went searching for a way to begin each morning with a thought from God’s Word. Not a long sermon, not a heavy lesson, but a thought. One just brief enough to read, strong enough to lift the heart toward God. That search became the seed of what we now call Daywords.

Some of you tell me you’re “behind.” You can’t fall behind  Each day is just a thought. These notes  aren’t assignments; they’re invitations. Listen one at a time or several at once. Use the note for what it is—a chance to remember God.

About 150 of us share this little journey. Your kindness has encouraged me more than you know. Beginning today I will send the brief note Monday thru Friday. On Saturday I will send either a brief devotional or a short Bible thought. On Sunday we will take a “catch up” day and send nothing.

In the coming year, we’ll begin a new series: “Why We.” Why we worship. Why we pray. Why we forgive. Tomorrow is “Why we read the Bible.”

See you in 2026.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.